lesson 20: "the kingdoms of glory"

7/28/2019 Lesson 20: "The Kingdoms of Glory"

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To download past handouts, go to: hvssnotes.blogspot.com

#1 President Brigham Young:When God revealed to Joseph

Smith and Sidney Rigdon thatthere was a place prepared for all,

according to the light they had re-ceived and their rejection of evil and practiceof good, it was a great trial to many, and

some apostatized because God was not go-

ng to send to everlasting punishment hea-thens and infants, but had a place of salva-tion, in due time, for all, and would bless the

honest and virtuous and truthful, whetherthey ever belonged to any Church ornot.(Journal of Discourses, 16:42)

Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in~Mark Twain (Mark Twain: A Biography by Albert Bigelow Pa

#2 President Brigham Young: My traditionswere such that when the Vision first came to

me, it was so directly contrary and opposedto my former education, I said, Wait a little;

I did not reject it; but I could not under-stand it. I then could feel what incorrect tra-dition had done for me.(see history.lds.org)

#3 Joseph Holbrook, a missionary sent toNew York, said, We held a prayer meeting

and found there was a wrong spirit withsome of the brethren, the presiding elder

even forbidding us to believe in the vision ofJoseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. In June1837 Joseph instructed the first missionaries

to England not to teach the vision until theSaints were prepared. He told them to

adhere closely to the first principles of theGospel, and remain silent concerning the

vision until such time as the work was fully

established, and it should be clearly mademanifest by the Spirit to do otherwise(Ed JPinegar, Richard J. Allen and Karl R. Anderson, Teachings aCommentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 265).

#4 President Wilford Woodruff: Ihad been taught that there was on

heaven and one hell; and everybothat was not sprinkled or baptized

infants and all, would have to go thell. It made no difference whether the indvidual had committed no wrong. ...On the

other hand, everybody that was sprinkledwould go to heaven. ...I did not believe on

word of it. ...But this vision opened myeyes. It showed me the power of God and

the righteousness of God in dealing with thhuman family. Before I saw Joseph I said I

did not care how old or how young hewas; the man that advanced that revela-tion was a prophet of God. I knew it for my

self.(Remarks,Deseret Weekly News, Sept. 5, 1891, 3

#5 The Prophet Joseph Smith: Icould explain a hundred fold mor

than I ever have of the glories ofthe kingdoms manifested to me i

the vision, were I permitted, and were the

people prepared to receive them. The Lorddeals with this people as a tender parent

with a child, communicating light and intelgence and the knowledge of his ways as

they can bear it.(History of the Church, 5:402)


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#6 President Brigham Young: The visiongiven to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon is

the greatest vision I ever knew given to thechildren of men, incorporating more in a few

pages than any other revelation I have anyknowledge of.(Journal of Discourses, 8:36)

#7An eyewitness, Philo Dibble, wrote: Thevision which is recorded in the Book of Doc-

trine and Covenants was given at the houseof Father Johnson, in Hiram, Ohio, and dur-

ing the time that Joseph and Sidney were in

the spirit and saw the heavens open therewere other men in the room, perhaps

twelve, among whom I was one during apart of the timeprobably two-thirds of the

timeI saw the glory and felt the power, butdid not see the vision. Joseph would, at in-

tervals, say: What do I see? as one mightsay while looking out the window and be-holding what all in the room could not see.

Then he would relate what he had seen orwhat he was looking at. Then Sidney replied,

I see the same. Presently Sidney would say,What do I see? and would repeat what hehad seen or was seeing, and Joseph would

reply, I see the same. This manner of con-versation was repeated at short intervals to

the end of the vision, and during the wholetime not a word was spoken by any other

John Johnson farm, Hiram, Ohio (30 m. from Kirtland

person.Not a sound nor motion made by anyo

but Joseph and Sidney, and it seemed to mthat they never moved a joint or limb durin

the time I was there, which I think was ovean hour, and to the end of the vision. Jose

sat firmly and calmly all the time in themidst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney salimp and pale, apparently as limber as a ra

observing which, Joseph remarked, smilingSidney is not used to it as I am.(Juvenile Instructor, 27:304)

#8 The Prophet Joseph Smith: Nothingcould be more pleasing to the Saints

upon the order of the kingdom of theLord, than the light which burst upon

the world through the foregoing visioEvery law, every commandment, everypromise, every truth, and every point touc

ing the destiny of man, from Genesis toRevelation, where the purity of the scrip-

tures remains unsullied by the folly of mengo to show the perfection of the theoryo

different degrees of glory in the future lifeand witnesses the fact that that document a transcript from the records of the eternal

world. The sublimity of the ideas; thepurity of the language; the scope for

action; the continued duration for completion, in order that the heirs of salvationmay confess the Lord and bow the knee; t

rewards for faithfulness, and the punish-ments for sins, are so much beyond the

narrow-mindedness of men, that everhonest man is constrained to exclaimIt came from God(HC 1:252)

#9 President Brigham Young: There aremyriads of people pertaining to this earth

who will come up and receive a glory according to their capacity.(JD 6:347)


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#10 President Brigham Young: Some mightsuppose that it would be a great blessing to

be taken and carried directly into heavenand there set down, but in reality that would

be no blessing to such persons; they couldnot reap a full reward, could not enjoy the

glory of the kingdom, and could not compre-hend and abide the light thereof, but itwould be to them a hell intolerable and I

suppose would consume them much quickerthan would hell fire. I would be no blessing

to you to be carried into the celestial king-dom, and obliged to stay therein, unless youwere prepared to dwell there(Discourses of Brigham Young, 95)

#11 The Prophet Joseph Smith: It is thefirst principle of the Gospel to know for a

certainty the Character of God(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 345)

If any man does not know God, ...he willrealize that he has not eternal life; forthere can be eternal life on no other prin-ciple.(Ibid.)

#12 Hugh Nibley:Glory is shared intelligence.(see A House of Glory, at maxwellinstitute.byu.edu)

#13 Elder John A. Widtsoe: The book[Doctrine and Covenants] explains clearly

that the lowest glory to which man is as-

signed is so glorious as to be beyond the uderstanding of man. It is a doctrine funda-mental iin Mormonism that the meanest sinner, in the final judgment, will receive a

glory which is beyond human understandinwhich is so great that we are unable to de-

scribe it adequately. Those who do well wireceive an even more glorious place.(WidtsThe Message of the Doctrine and Covenants, 167)

#14 President Brigham Young: When yousee our Father, you will see a being with

whom you have long been acquainted, andHe will receive you into His arms, and you

will be ready to fall into His embrace andkiss Him You will be so glad and joyfulWhen you are qualified and purified, ...you

can endure the glory of eternity.(JD, 4:54-55

Hugh Nibley: We are told time and again that when Jesus came down to earth he took flesh so that wecould comprehend him. He became like us. "Among the angels he was an angel. Among men he was a

man. He descends to the level of the people whom he must teach, because he must do it in order to teachthem. Because of this principle you comprehend what you are like, and comprehension means a lot. Youcomprehend others only to the degree that you are like them. (Unscrolling the Scrolls Some Forgotten W

nesses,Old Testament and Related Studies, ch. 6.)

Jordan Vajda:[Father Vajda was a Roman Catholic Dominican monk. His research supports Joseph Smithteaching that humans can become like God. He does so by exploring ancient Christian documents.]

It seems that if one's soteriology [doctrine of salvation] cannot accommodate a doctrine of human divin

zation, then it has at least implicitly, if not explicitly, rejected the heritage of the early Christian church and dparted from the faith of first millennium Christianity. However, if that is the case, those who would espouse

such a [doctrine of salvation] also believe, in fact, that Christianity, from about the second century on, hasapostatized and "gotten it wrong" on this core issue of human salvation.

Thus, ironically, those who would excoriate [denounce] Mormons for believing in the doctrine of exaltat

actually agree with them that the early church experienced a "great apostasy" on fundamental doctrinal quetions. And the supreme irony is that such persons should probably investigate the claims of the LDS Churchwhich proclaims that within itself is to be found the "restoration of all things.

I firmly maintain that the Latter-day Saints are owed a debt of gratitude by other Christians because theSaints remind us all of our divine potential. ("Partakers of the Divine Nature: A Comparative Analysis of Pa

Other thoughts too great not to include:


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tristic and Mormon Doctrines of Divinization, 1998 master's thesis at Graduate Theological Union in BerkeleyCalifornia, reprinted by Neal A. Maxwell Institute. Elder Quentin L. Cook reported that Father Vajda later be

come a latter-day saint. This good man is completely active in the Church, has been to the temple, teachesthe Gospel Doctrine class in his ward, and has a management position in a hospital in Seattle. BYU Speeche13 March 2007.)

Quentin L. Cook The conversion of Jordan Vajda, a fine young man who had been a Catholic priest, is instructive. When he was in grade school he had Latter-day Saint friends in his class who shared with him the

ove of the gospel. At age 13 he found an offer from the Church for a free Book of Mormon. He sent for it,and two sister missionaries responded. They were surprised that he was only 13 and had requested the Booof Mormon. He was impressed with what they taught and what he felt, but after discussions with his family,

he decided to become a priest in the Catholic Church. As he prepared to be a priest, he remained interestedThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He studied at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He became acquainted with many

who take the position we are not Christians, but he also associated with the students at the Latter-day Saintnstitute of religion at Berkeley. He decided to write a masters thesis on why certain people maintain that ware not Christians. Two of the issues he addressed in his masters thesis were:

The nature of God and our belief that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are the two separate indi-viduals the Prophet Joseph beheld in the First Vision.

Exaltation and our belief in eternal progressionthat we can progress to live with and be like God.

He compared these doctrinal issues with PreNicene Creed early Christian writers and determined thatthere was significant support for the position of the Church of Jesus Christ. He concluded in his masters thesis, which has since been published by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies:

Ironically, those who would excoriate Mormons for believing in the doctrine of exaltation actually agreewith them that the early church experienced a great apostasy on fundamental doctrinal questions.

This was primarily an academic pursuit. He became a priest in the Dominican order and had assignmentn Arizona and then at the University of Washington. There he came in contact with our missionaries.

After being taught by missionaries and praying sincerely, he received inspiration that he should resign as

Catholic priest and be baptized and confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ. His letter of resignation ex-pressed his love and appreciation for the Catholic Church and then stated:

But why am I doing what I am doing? To put it most simply: I have found a fuller truth and goodness a

beauty in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After years of study and reflection, I have come tbelieve that the LDS Church is the only true and living Church of Jesus Christ, guided and led by living apostand prophets.

I believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, called and ordained for this, the dispensation of the full-ness of times. I love the Book of Mormon; I believe it to be the word of God for us in these latter days.

I can no longer deny my feelings, my heart, my conscience. I cannot deny the confirming witness of the

Holy Ghost which has come after much prayer and soul-searching. At this point in my life, at this moment, I look forward to and prepare for my convert baptism, I have found a happiness greater than I ever imagine

possible. (Be a Missionary All Your Life, BYU Speeches, 13 March 2007.)

Ernst W. Benz: One can think what one wants of this doctrine of progressive deification, but one thing is ctain: with this anthropology Joseph Smith is closer to the view of man held by the Ancient Church than the

precursors of the Augustinian doctrine of original sin were, who considered the thought of such a substantiaconnection between God and man as the heresy, par excellence. We must remember here that for the AnciChurch salvation stood in direct correlation to embodiment. Athanasius, the great Bishop of Alexandria, the

head of the Church in all Egypt, summarized the Christian doctrine of salvation in the words, God becameman so that we may become God. The goal of salvation is deification, and Athanasius invokes in this contethe words of Jesus: Be ye there perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48)

(From his chapter titled "Imago Dei: Man in the Image of God," in Reflections on Mormonism: Judaeo-Christ
http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11678http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11678


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D&C LESSON 20 OUTLINE

~D&C 76: Whats it about? (The three degrees of glory...and so much more!)

My guess is, that if you grew up in the Church, like I did, you probably take this reveation for granted. Yes, its a great revelation, but it makes a lot of sense. I dont thi

any of us would call it shocking, would you? Would it surprise you to know that quita few of the Saints fell away from the Church when it was revealed? It would be in-teresting to hear from those of you who are converts what you thought about theseteachings when you first heard about them, if you feel so inclined.

Lets try to put D&C 76 into historical perspective, by summarizing the beliefs of themajor religions of the day:ON BOARD:

~Calvinists? (Predestination)~Catholics? (Eternal hell for the wicked, purgatory for the repentant, then

heaven)~Universalists? (All will be saved)~Protestants? (No purgatory, just heaven and hell eternally)~Hinduism & Buddhism? (Reincarnation until worthy of heaven, or Nirvana)~Islam? (Non-believers go to hell eternally, believers go to Paradise eternally)

That covers it, more or less. Lets see how members of the Church responded to thisradical, new-fangled idea of kingdoms of glory for all but sons of perdition.

Quotation #1It was even a struggle for Brigham at first:

Quotation #2Interestingly, Wilford Woodruffs response was different:

Quotation #4~Did Joseph write everything he and Sidney Rigdon saw? (No, see 76:115)

Heres what Joseph had to say about this revelation:Quotation #5

A hundred times more than the length of section 76 would be more than the fullength of the Doctrine & Covenants!

~Do you think there are truths and doctrines that might be given to us if wewere prepared to receive them? (One thing we know if is what is con-tained in the 2/3 of the Book of Mormon that was sealed, see 2 Ne. 27:1

Later on, heres what Brigham Young had to say about D&C 76:Quotation #6

~Werent most of the revelations given to Joseph only?


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~Why do you think Sidney Rigdon saw the same vision at the same time? (lawof witnesses for such a significant revelation of restored doctrine?)

~Were there others present as well?Quotation #7

Hopefully youre all anxious to dig into the revelation already, but Id like to get onemore perspective on it, that of Joseph himself:

Quotation #8

Due to time constraints, Ive decided not to cover the specifics of what qualifies us fthe different kingdoms, but Ive included a chart in the handout. If you have ques-tions, please ask, since someone here will certainly have insight!

As I was researching this lesson, there was one concept that kept coming to the forand Id like to introduce it by asking this question:

~When you were in school, did you study to get a good grade on the test, ordid you study to master the concepts you were learning about?

I bring this up because of all the coursework Ive done in my life, there was only onprofessor, at BYU, who really emphasized and made it possible to master a chapterbefore moving on to the next. It happened to be a physics class, and it was very chenging for me. But the professor had been a teacher in the military. In the militarythey teach a little differently! You see, those he taught would be making life-and-death decisions in the defense of their country! It wasnt good enough just to passtestthe goal was to master the subject. He taught the same way at BYU, eventhough it was more work for him. The course was taught like any other, but at theend of a chapter you had about a week to take the test in the testing center. If youdidnt like your grade, you could take a different test on the same material. If I re-member correctly, he always had five different tests-five opportunities to master thetopic. Whereas in other classes if you blew it on one or two tests, your chances ofgetting an A were nil, in that physics class if you wanted an A, you could get it! Iwas very motivating, even though it was one of the most difficult classes I took.

Youre probably wondering what this has to do with D&C 76.~Well, do you think the Plan of Salvation Earthlife test is a pass/fail? Or is it

more of a master-the-concept test? (Actually, its neither. We know Satanhas mastered the concepts! Its more of a what-have-you-become test!)

Quotation #9~According to their capacity to do what? (endure the glory of that kingdom)

Quotation #10I imagine it would be somewhat like suddenly finding yourself in a foreign country,


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unable to understand the language and unfamiliar with the culture, and never beingable to figure any of it out!

~Does not this reflect a loving Father in Heaven?Joseph Smith said: (read)

Quotation #11 (1st half)~Do these philosophies (on board) reflect a loving Father?

Joseph went on to say:Quotation #11 (2nd half)

~So, we know this earthly test is to see if we will be obedient (see Abr. 3:25)But what is the purpose of that obedience? (To help us become like God)

~And why must we be like Him to inherit the Celestial Kingdom? (in order to bable to endure the glory of that kingdom.)

~And what is glory? (read D&C 93:36)~What is the opposite of light and truth? (darkness and falsehood)

~Who personifies darkness and is the father of all lies? (Lucifer)The next verse tells us how intelligence relates to Satan:

D&C 93:37Heres food for thought: Hugh Nibley said, (Quotation #12), Glory is shared intelli-gence, or we could say shared light and truth. Apparently, its not enjoyable to be inthe presence of such an intelligence as is God, unless there is no darkness or false-hood in us. Hence, the reason for obedience and repentance.

~Doesnt that motivate us to do our best to become as like Him as we possiblycan while were here?

One other concept: We know the Earth itself is passing through a progression ofglory.

~What state is the Earth in now? (telestial)~Does that mean that the Telestial Kingdom is about the same as regular eart

ife now, but continued on forever?Quotation #13

~What is the glory of the Telestial Kingdom likened to? (the stars)

~And the Celestial? (the sun)

I pray that we will have a change of mindset, if need be, from I need to stop doingsuch and such, and start doing so and so, to I want to do whatever it takes to be-come capable of enduring Celestial glory so I can life with my Father in Heaven andmy family eternally!

Let me end with a thought from Brigham Young: Quotation #14

lesson 20: "the kingdoms of glory"

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